Diono Radian RXT Convertible Car Seat Review & Giveaway

by Mama Chocolate on October 17, 2012

Did you know that vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of death in children 14 years old and under? It makes you think…if we are so worried about all the other “perils of childhood,” and spend so much time and money to avoid many of those (vaccinating comes to mind,) getting the safest possible car seat should be an even higher priority!

The safest spot in the car for your child is in a rear-facing car seat. Rear-facing is 5 times safer than forward-facing in an accident. That’s 500% safer, a number you can’t ignore. This number applies beyond the still-widely-recognized AAP recommendation of rear-facing until 1 year or 20lbs, (which they recently changed to 2 years or 30lbs.)

Statistics show that you should keep your kids rear-facing as long as possible. “As long as possible” comes down to the weight limits and abilities of your car seat, so choosing one is one of the most important safety decisions you will make for your child.

The Diono Radian RXT is one of the best (if not the best) car seat on the market today, especially as concerns extended rear-facing!

If you’re looking for the safest car seat, the Radian RXT is a great option for all your kids. It has a 10 year life (longer than the average car seat which should be retired after 6 years when the plastic likely to become more brittle and less safe.)

It’s built for strength and safety with a steel alloy frame, reinforced sidewalls, adjustable head support and our patented SafeStop® energy absorbing harness. EPS foam surrounds the child’s head and body to provide complete side impact protection. Our unique SuperLATCH system makes installation easy. The RadianRXT is NCAP crash tested, the industry benchmark for verifying child seat performance in severe accident conditions, and the only car seat rated for LATCH use with a child up to 80 lbs. (From the Diono website)

The Radian RXT can be used rear-facing for infants as tiny as 5lbs all the way up to 45lbs, far beyond most rear-facing seats on the market.

We got this car seat for Victoria who was outgrowing her “bucket” infant seat, but we love it so much we are going to be replacing Katie’s soon with another Radian RXT, and when Elanora outgrows her seat, we’ll upgrade her, also.

After Katie reaches the 45lb rear-facing limit, the car seat will easily be switched around and converted to forward-facing.

She can stay that way in the 5-point harness until she is 80 pounds, at which point the seat can convert into a booster up to 120 pounds…which is getting close to how much Mama weighs! Since it lasts 10 years, Katie could still be in this seat when she is 13!

This is truly the only car seat we will ever need for our daughters and is well-worth the investment!

Adjusting the straps is the easiest process I’ve ever found on any car seat. The shoulder straps go down the back of the seat, right in the open…no standing on your head, fumbling around trying to pull straps through, only to find you picked the wrong one to pull…I’ve been there, done that. So. many. times.

The bottom buckle piece is easy to change as well. I was easily able to reach my hand under the seat while it was installed in the car and change it out without any trouble.

I was able to completely change the straps to a new size setting without having to un-install the car seat. This is huge in my book after some very frustrating experiences with trying to change the straps on other car seats we have owned. You won’t need to purchase “Car Seats for Dummies” to install or convert this seat!

One of the Radian RXT’s best features is how slim it is. Check this out:

You can easily fit three across the back seat in your car, even in most sedans! This is rare to find in car seats…somehow “safety” means “bulky and wide” most of the time, causing a problem for families with 3 or more kids who are all still in car seats.

In smaller cars, you may have an issue with the rear-facing position if you have it set up on the side seats (behind the driver or front passenger seats. It is possible, but the front seats would have to scoot way up and end up with not much leg room if your car is smaller. The middle seat won’t give you any trouble, since it can fit between, but something to consider if you are planning on more than one seat in the back (check out the measurements on the Diono Radian RXT page under “Product Specs.)

In our SUV (a Toyota Sequoia,) this isn’t even an issue.

The Radian RXT comes with a detachable cup caddy and has the capability to hold up to a total of four!

So far we have found that the caddy is a little too detachable for our somewhat destructive 2 year old…we will probably put it back on in a few months when we’re ready to teach her to leave it alone.

We will soon be purchasing three Diono “Ultra Mat” seat protectors, also. My husband is especially picky sensitive about getting indentations in our seats back there or crumbs, spills, etc. Right now we have towels underneath our seats, but I am concerned about the safety of them (that it might make things more slippery,) but the Ultra Mat is specifically designed for the seat and meant to hold it in place more firmly and prevent slipping.

*Note: Harness pads are not shown in example photos – I took them off to adjust the straps and forgot to put them back on before our photo shoot. Pads should be worn to cushion and protect shoulders in case of an accident.

I’ve never heard of this seat, but glad to know about it NOW. Planning to start TTC for #2 and glad to know what seat im getting … But would also make a nice gift for some little ones I know who need it now:-)

OhMyGosh! This has got to be the nicest, coolest car seat I’ve ever seen! My kid would actually like drives if this was his! I’d probably pick Rugby because I have a boy and I like how it looks, but Spring is definitely my favorite!!Jessica VanDerslice recently posted..Dessert in the Raw

And I just wanted to add that putting *anything* under the seat is not safe and could result in the seat not working properly in a crash. That includes Diono/Sunshine Kid’s own products. I don’t know why they insist on selling them. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=34379

There are no standards for crash testing after market products. They may very well have crash tested them, but as there aren’t any standards, it really doesn’t tell you anything. As pointed out in the thread I linked, they could throw it at a wall and say it was crash tested. I’m sure they really did use it in a crash test and maybe it worked fine, but with no standards or requirements for passing, I sure wouldn’t take a chance with them (or any after market product that interferes with installing or buckling) and my kids safety….

I just looked at the linked page and now I can give a specific example. They claim the “mighty tite” passed a crash test with damage to the seat belt webbing, but in real world use, it frequently, perhaps even always, damages the webbing after varying times of normal use.

It’s just safer to never use any product that isn’t sold as part of your seat.

I like “Spring”, but would probably choose Rugby because we are not absolutely sure we are done having kids yet. Actually, I need one for all three of my kids! (I have a 19 month old, 3 yr old and 8 yr old.)

I would love any pattern/color that would work for a boy! I got one for him only to find out he has already outgrown it ;( I’m bummed. Didn’t realize he had grown so fast. So now we are back on the search for a great seat for a four, nearly five year old, boy.

I love Shadow but I’m tempted to be super nice and give this seat to my sister in law (if I win) for one of her kids (seeing as how I have quite a few Dionos…. Brittany Thomas recently posted..Ethical Choices on a Tight Budget